Things were looking down on Friday in Assen at the Dutch GP for Jorge Lorenzo. Jorge had a big high side accident in practice that left him with a badly broken collarbone, and was recovering from surgery that included 8 screws to hold his collarbone together. It wasn’t a question of “if” Jorge would miss races, but “how many.” Or so everyone thought.

Saturday morning saw Jorge amazingly pass the MotoGP physical exam and he was cleared to race. He then went out on track and turned competitive times in Warm Up, however it was unclear how he would perform in race conditions when the pressure gets turned up.

Those doubts were quickly erased as Jorge charged from his 12th place position on the grid up to a high of 4th at one point, before settling for 5th at the end. Remarkably, after a horrendous accident and surgery, he would finish only 1 position behind his championship rival.

Many people have called his ride “heroic” and “legendary,” and surely this ride will go down in the history books as one of the all time greats. Jorge told Spanish media, “I suffered throughout, the muscles in that part of my body felt dead. I’m happier than with any win.”

If at the end of the year Jorge Lorenzo stands on top of the points and takes another World Championship, this result in Assen will surely be the moment that everyone can look back on and recognize as the one that made all the difference. HJC is proud to be a part of such a memorable and legendary event.